Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning: Too much damn advertising

October 24th, 2011, 03:12

Most games need advertising these days. Word of mouth sales ala Minecraft are pretty rare usually.

Nevertheless, on the heels of a relentless stream of trailers, previews, & interviews, what the hell is up with me seeing banner ads for this title when its launch is still 3-1/2 MONTHS away?!?! A marketing budget half the size of the overall game budget is too reminiscent of Hellgate: London for my tastes.

Originally Posted by lostforever
I have not been bothered by advertising yet however I agree with DArtagnan that this is a kind of game that needs lot of advertising. Its new IP, new company etc, so lot of advertising is needed.

This. None of my other gaming friends have heard of the title yet. They need more marketing.. but they need to explain all the reasons why people should be interested and why it's not yet another free to play MMORPG with a generic fantasy title, as that's a little bit what it looks like from the adverts alone.

Originally Posted by kalniel
This. None of my other gaming friends have heard of the title yet. They need more marketing.. but they need to explain all the reasons why people should be interested and why it's not yet another free to play MMORPG with a generic fantasy title, as that's a little bit what it looks like from the adverts alone.

Yeah, I think they're up for a real challenge in that way.

Also, a lot of people seem to think it's going to be a "lighthearted" Fable-like experience.

Which is not at all the vibe I'm getting from interviews, but if that's what people are thinking - then it's going to be an uphill battle in terms of the "enthusiast" audience.

DArtagnan

I think to people who read about RPGs daily (us) it seems like too much advertising. Personally, I don't read all the updates here about it. I saw some suggested ad about it on another site and clicked it thinking it had been released… surprised as hell that it was still months away.

I like to read about a new title only a little until I get a sense of what it is. I'm interested in KoA, so I have stopped reading about it. There's just too much hot air and hype, but that's how the business works. Most people don't read about this stuff as much as we do, so it's probably necessary.

I'll skim reviews at Metacritic when it comes out and will likely buy it unless it gets panned.

I don't think I've seen advertising for it yet - is this region-specific via geo-tagging ?

I'm seeing lots and lots and lots of advertising for Skyrim, though.

-- “ Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius – and a lot of courage – to move in the opposite direction.“ (E.F.Schumacher, Economist, Source)

They have been doing an excellent job of getting interviews, gameplay footage and developer videos out there, even though their marketing campaign has not gone into full swing yet with respect to print, web and TV advertising.

The developers even do a weekly Q&A answering questions from their website.

Well he did say that he was seeing banner ads, though he didn't specify where (I haven't noticed any here).

A lot of advertising on the net these days is targeted and with any advertising it all depends on where you are looking as to how much you are seeing.

A little bit ago I was watching Hulu and advertisements for Dead Island kept coming on every single break. I wouldn't exactly say that game had the biggest advertising campaign ever, but if you were watching a lot of Hulu you might get that impression.

I'll never understand why gamers worry about ads and marketing. The banner ad is part of the site you are visiting, yes? Why is it better that the ad be for Viagra or even Barbie's Horse Adventures? There will be an ad for something - ignore it.

Originally Posted by Dhruin
I'll never understand why gamers worry about ads and marketing. The banner ad is part of the site you are visiting, yes? Why is it better that the ad be for Viagra or even Barbie's Horse Adventures? There will be an ad for something - ignore it.

Maybe it's the entire concept of ads everywhere they "worry" about?

Personally, I have a Jedi Lord degree in ignoring ads - so I don't even notice them most of the time. But I'll never stop loathing how accepted it is to smear your products into faces of people because you want them to buy it, regardless of any interest they have or actual use they see in it.

Originally Posted by Dhruin
Please. If the problem is advertisements in general, then Drithius' issue lies with the owners of the forum that placed the banner to garner revenue.

Please what?

His issue is not necessarily specific to one place, but maybe the concept of spamming ads in general. As in, everyone who "shrugs" these things off and has done so since they came about is part of the problem.

I understand that you don't mind these things, and that's fine - but there's no need to dismiss the opposite position as ridiculous unless you can explain why it's objectively OK to spam ads into the faces of people.

DArtagnan

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
I understand that you don't mind these things, and that's fine - but there's no need to dismiss the opposite position as ridiculous unless you can explain why it's objectively OK to spam ads into the faces of people.

The site has a position for a banner ad. If you visit the Minecraft forums (apparently), you'll get an ad - that is guaranteed. Why not get an ad for an RPG, than something else? If you've got a problem with ads in general, why not complain about the site putting the banner there, rather than Reckoning for using the facility?

Why is it a problem for Reckoning and not, say, GOG? GOG is the only ad we run - you'll get it on our banner every.time.you.visit. Are they spamming?

Originally Posted by Dhruin
The site has a position for a banner ad. If you visit the Minecraft forums (apparently), you'll get an ad - that is guaranteed. Why not get an ad for an RPG, than something else? If you've got a problem with ads in general, why not complain about the site putting the banner there, rather than Reckoning for using the facility?

Why is it a problem for Reckoning and not, say, GOG? GOG is the only ad we run - you'll get it on our banner every.time.you.visit. Are they spamming?

I'm not sure if you're implying that I'm somehow against the ads for Reckoning specifically.

AFAIK, Drithius started the thread because he'd seen "too many ads" for Reckoning.

This, from you:

I'll never understand why gamers worry about ads and marketing.

I suggested that maybe it's not just about Reckoning, and maybe it's about how ads are handled in general. Is there some reason we can't talk about that here?

I, personally, have no SPECIFIC issue with the ads for Reckoning - and I don't see any point in targeting it like Drithius did. It just serves as an example of how oversaturated we've become with ads - and I'm not the kind of person to ignore the root cause just because everyone is helping the issue along.

People - in general - have adjusted to ads, and apparently most have fully accepted them as a natural part of our lives.

I think that's very, very sad - and that's why I bring it up.

But it's not exactly critical right now, and I'm fine with just letting it rest - seeing as how you seem to want this thread to be about Reckoning only.